


Merry Christmas S & J!  A Johnlock Advent Calendar

by BubbleGumLizard



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Advent Calendar, Christmas Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M, Sherlock Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-02
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-04 11:31:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 5,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5332577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubbleGumLizard/pseuds/BubbleGumLizard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock and John have finally started dating, just in time for the Christmas season!</p>
<p>(Formerly by MaeBelleSarah -- I changed my name, explanation is in my profile.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1 December 2015

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I couldn't resist writing a Johnlock Advent story to go along with my Mystrade one. The two stories go together but they can also be read without each other. This one will be 221Bs, so enjoy!
> 
> (Also, I'm late posting the first chapter, but only a day, so that's okay, right? It's still December 1 here, but I'm going by London time for posting, where it's December 2 already.)

“Come on, Sherlock,” John said from the doorway.

“No. You can’t make me.” Sherlock was under a pile of blankets, just a few of his curls visible.

“You need to get dressed so we can leave.” John was trying to be stern, but the image in front of him was so adorable that he wanted to join him under the blankets.

“No. You said we’re never leaving this room again.” Sherlock’s curls disappeared as he burrowed deeper into his nest.

“I don’t remember saying that.”

“Maybe I said it. One of us did.”

John couldn’t help himself: he laughed. “I promise we can come back to bed as soon as we’ve eaten something.”

“Order takeaway. I’m not going anywhere.”

“You said we could have a night out.”

“When I was done with you and I’m not done yet. I wanted to have sex at least three more times today.”

“Well, there’s always after dinner for sex.” Sherlock’s offer was tempting, but John resolved to stay strong. They had barely left the bedroom for the last week.

“After dinner is too long. It needs to be now.”

John looked at Sherlock’s serious expression, which seemed at odds with how rumpled the rest of him looked. The combination was too adorable to resist. Sighing, he stripped off his clothes and climbed into bed.


	2. 2 December 2015

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went for the feels for this one. Enjoy!

Sherlock rolled over and pulled John into a tight embrace. He had never felt this before, this feeling of total contentment that came when he was holding John like this.

It was strange to him, to feel so loved by someone whose love and attention he craved. He had always been loved as a child, but he had never wanted that. After all those years of never daring to dream of John loving him back, of trying to hide his feelings and push them away, it was amazing to be able to look at John and tell him how he felt.

Like a switch had been flipped, Sherlock had gone from never acknowledging how he felt about John to being allowed to hold him and kiss him and whisper sweet things to him. He could admit how he felt and wasn’t reviled for it.

It was making him emotional. Sherlock, the sociopath, was being emotional. He wanted to shout how he felt from the rooftops, tell everyone in the world that he was in love with John Watson. It was very strange to feel things so strongly, to have these emotions after avoiding them for so long.

It was all he could do not to cry when John shifted, opened his eyes, looked at Sherlock and murmured, “You really are beautiful.”


	3. 3 December 2015

They finally left the flat. It was a case that did it, the only thing interesting enough to drag Sherlock away from sex with John was a bloody murder. John supposed that should have been a red flag, but instead he just found it endearing. 

While they were at the crime scene, Sherlock studying the body and John admiring him, a new girl on the forensics team started chatting with John. John responded politely, smiling his usual, friendly smile at her. She made a joke and he laughed, in a particularly good mood.

Suddenly, Sherlock appeared out of nowhere. He slid his arm around the back of John's neck and pulled him in for a long kiss. John, not minding one bit, responded enthusiastically. When Sherlock finally pulled away, John grinned at him. “That takes care of informing everyone of our relationship, then,” he said, reaching down and holding Sherlock’s hand tightly. They had planned to keep it quiet around nearly everyone, but it appeared that Sherlock had reconsidered that plan.   
“Attention everyone,” Sherlock shouted, looking around the crime scene. “John is mine. No one may flirt with him.”

“Are you okay with being treated as an object?” Sally asked a few moments later, when Sherlock had gone back to his work.”

John, extremely pleased with it, just smiled and blushed.


	4. Chapter 4

“I’m bored, John,” Sherlock said. He was lying on the couch, as usual, staring at the ceiling.

“That’s nice, love,” John said absently, typing on his computer while sitting in his chair.

“You’re supposed to entertain me.”

“I don’t think I am, actually. I seem to recall that, as an adult, you are responsible for entertaining yourself.” John looked up, flashing Sherlock a smile.

“Then I will entertain myself.” Sherlock stood, walked over to John, pulled John’s computer off of his lap, and set it on the desk. He settled himself in John’s lap, curling up like an overgrown cat.

“That isn’t what I meant,” John started to complain, but he was soon silenced by Sherlock leaning in for a kiss. John wrapped his arms around Sherlock, deepening the kiss.

After a few moments, Sherlock reached down and rubbed John’s erection (a result of having a lapful of Sherlock) through his trousers. John moaned and bucked up into the touch, unzipping his trousers and freeing it from his pants. He gasped as Sherlock took hold of it and stroked for a few minutes before sliding down onto his knees and going to work with his mouth.

“Are you happy now?” John asked with a smile several minutes later, Sherlock back in his lap.

Sherlock kissed him. “Well, I’m certainly not bored.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I'd try to make it a little more exciting today. 221 words is hard. I kept ending up with 220 or 222 words and couldn't find anywhere to add or subtract just one word.
> 
> I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!


	5. 5 December 2015

“What are you doing?” Sherlock asked irritably. He had been asleep on the couch when the sound of John’s movements awoke him.

“I’m decorating. We need more Christmas spirit in here,” John told hims.

“Why do you feel a need to decorate? The flat is fine as it is.”

John ruffled Sherlock’s hair affectionately as he walked past to put a Santa hat on the skull, adjusting it so it sat perfectly. “You aren’t going to destroy my good mood today, Sherlock. You know I love Christmas and I love decorating.”

“Well, at least do it quietly.” He turned around so he was facing the back of the couch again and lay perfectly still for a few moments. “Why are you cackling?” he demanded.

That only made John laugh louder. “I’m not cackling, Sherlock. I’m simply laughing.”

“I’m not laughing at your expense. My own expense, more like.”

“What in particular is so funny, then?” Sherlock turned, sat up, and favored John with a steely gaze.

“I wondered how long it would be before you became annoyed with me again.”

Sherlock tried to suppress a smile. “I demand kisses or I shall remain annoyed.”

“Well, I suppose I have no choice but to accede to your demands,” John said as he dropped onto the couch next to Sherlock.

“Yes, you’d better.”


	6. 6 December 2015

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's an hour past when I normally go to bed, so if this is awful, blame that. :-)
> 
> Enjoy!

John stood back a few paces, his arms folded across his chest, a smile on his lips. Sherlock was talking to a client, holding a hushed conversation that just barely carried on the breeze to John. Although Sherlock was being particularly insulting, he was also making some amazing deductions and he was awing the woman. He seemed to know everything about her and her life and she thought he was amazing.

John thought Sherlock was amazing as well. Sherlock’s powers of observation still blew him away, even after all these years. He knew Sherlock better than anyone else in the world, but he was still impressed every time Sherlock pulled very clear details out of thin air. He knew that he would never get used to it, that when they were old and living in the country, he would still be astonished by his partner, even when he was using his deductive powers to raise bees or something equally odd. He could see it now, doddering old John drinking a cup of tea while watching Sherlock and thinking about how amazing he still was.

John dropped his arms to his side when Sherlock accepted payment from the client and turned back to him. He wrapped his arms around Sherlock’s middle, rested his head on his shoulder, and whispered, “You’re still brilliant.”


	7. 7 December 2015

Sherlock was pacing the room, ranting to John about some nonsense that Mycroft and Lestrade were pulling, something about a fake relationship for Christmas. John had stopped paying attention, instead watching the way that Sherlock’s tight trousers showed off his arse as he walked.

“Why aren’t you listening?” Sherlock demanded, turning to stare at John. “I insist that you stop staring at my arse and start listening to me this instant!”

“Of course, love,” John said with a smile. “I will do that just as soon as you stop looking so delicious all the time.”

That threw Sherlock off balance. He stared at John, still unused to hearing someone say things like that about him. It was hard to think of himself as desirable after so many years of ignoring sex entirely or being teased for being gangly.

John certainly wasn’t teasing him, though. There was one emotion on John’s face as he commented on Sherlock’s body and it was lust. He always looked as if he were being driven mad by lust and couldn’t wait to get Sherlock into bed, which made Sherlock feel quite pleased with himself.

“I wanted to keep talking,” Sherlock said quietly.

John pulled him in for a kiss, murmuring against his lips, “You can, love. Just do it while you join me in the bath.”


	8. 8 December 2015

Sherlock muttered in his sleep and pulled John closer to him, burying his face in John's hip. John chuckled and shifted so that Sherlock could wrap his arms around John's waist, adjusting his computer so he could continue typing on it. He was sitting in bed while he typed up a blog post, Sherlock sleeping next to him.

John had found that Sherlock was a surprisingly cuddly sleeper. John himself had never been one for cuddling, but it was different with Sherlock. He didn't mind it so much with Sherlock. In fact, he liked it. Rather than wishing for some space, as he always had in past relationships, he wanted nothing more than to hold Sherlock forever.

This was his favorite position, sitting in bed and doing work or reading while Sherlock slept. It rarely happened, considering how little Sherlock slept, but when it did, it was like magic. It gave John an unprecedented view of Sherlock, peaceful and asleep, relaxed in a way that nothing else could make him. The whirlwind of energy that was John's love was still for a change, and John could not be happier.

Finishing his work, John put his computer down to join Sherlock in the land of the dreaming, lying down and allowing himself to be cuddled like some sort of giant teddy bear.


	9. Chapter 9

John slid his hands into Sherlock’s curls, gripping tightly as he thrust up into the wet heat of his lover’s mouth.  He moaned, letting his head fall back against the pillow as Sherlock sucked hard, just the way John liked it.  Unable to control himself, he thrust up again, holding Sherlock’s head in place.

 

Sherlock pulled back and John was afraid that he had done something wrong, but when he looked down to see Sherlock’s face, all he saw was lust and fire being returned.  Sherlock licked his lips, nearly panting with desire.  “Fuck my mouth, John,” he whispered.

 

John almost came immediately.  He flipped Sherlock over and straddled his face, hesitating over him.  Sherlock lipped his lips greedily and looked up at John, pleading.  “Don’t make me beg, John,” he said in a low gravelly voice.

 

The thought was tempting, but John wasn’t sure he could handle it.  He slid his cock into Sherlock’s waiting mouth and thrust, feeling it close tightly around him.  He let himself go, thrusting with abandon, losing himself in the delicious sensation of Sherlock’s mouth and reaching orgasm in very little time.

 

Afterwards, he lay in Sherlock’s arms and lamented that he hadn’t taken his time and savored it.  He could rectify that, however.

 

After all, there was always time later to make Sherlock beg.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Smut!


	10. 10 December 2015

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 221 words is hard. Especially for smut.

“Come on, John!” Sherlock said anxiously, bouncing with pent up energy. “I want to get to Mycroft’s house before Lestrade gets there!”

“Love, I said I’ll be there in a minute,” John said, typing up the last few words of his sentence.

“Now, John!” Sherlock said angrily.

John looked up at him, surprised. Sherlock hadn’t been angry with him since they started dating. He stood, clenching his fists and stalked towards him, narrowing his eyes. “Are you telling me what to do?” he asked in a low, gravelly voice.

Sherlock seemed to go weak at the knees and John grinned inwardly. “No,” he said quietly.

“’No’ what?” John asked dangerously, stopping with his face inches from Sherlock’s.

“No, sir,” Sherlock whispered, his eyes wide and intense.

“That’s right,” John said. He reached up and touched his cheek. “Do I need to remind you what happens if you forget yourself?” He patted Sherlock’s cheek a bit more forcefully than was necessary.

“No, sir,” Sherlock said again and John could see that Sherlock had completely forgotten his rush.

“We’ve seen what happens when you’re bad. Do you remember?”

“Yes, sir.” They were definitely going to be late.

“Do you want to confess anything, Sherlock?”

John couldn’t hold back his grin, seeing that Sherlock was practically salivating as he confessed, “Oh, I’ve been bad.”

 


	11. 11 December 2015

Sherlock was ranting again. He watched as Sherlock gesticulated wildly with his bow and violin and shout about Mycroft.

After what seemed like an hour, Sherlock turned and stared at John. “I’m boring you,” he said quietly.

John was surprised. Sherlock had never noticed John being bored before. “Not boring, exactly. I don’t understand what your problem is.”

“Haven’t you been listening? Or is your perfectly average mind unable to understand simple problems?”

Slightly amused, John just watched Sherlock. It was the first time he had been really insulting since they had begun dating and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. Normally he would just roll his eyes or go make some tea, but he wasn’t sure if that aspect of their relationship had changed.

Sherlock added a few more insults and then stopped himself, staring at John again. His eyes grew wide and he sank to his knees dramatically in front of John. “I apologize, John. Please do not be angry with me!”

John chuckled. “Sherlock, I’m not angry with you. I could never be angry with you for insulting me. Personal insults are part of your charm.”

Sherlock’s eyes narrowed as if he weren’t sure if John were sincere.

“Part of my charm?”

“Of course. If you ever stopped insulting me, I would think you were broken.”


	12. 12 December 2015

John sat on the couch, reading. Their day had been quiet, which made a nice change. He glanced at where Sherlock was sitting at the table, apparently staring into empty space. He hoped that Sherlock was thinking and not attempting to sleep with his eyes open or something.

He couldn’t be sure, but he thought that Sherlock hadn’t slept in a few days. Of course he had tried to get his boyfriend to sleep (by shagging him senseless), but Sherlock was awake when John fell asleep and was still awake when John woke up. It was frustrating, to say the least.

And now, Sherlock was definitely showing signs of sleep deprivation. John had seen Sherlock go much longer without sleep, but that before he was expending large amounts of energy on sex. It was certain that Sherlock needed extra rest now, but he wouldn’t listen to a word that John said.

John had tried to lull Sherlock to sleep with banal chatter (after sex), aromatherapy (after sex), and soothing music (after sex). Sherlock either jumped up and rushed off to do something or was still talking animatedly when whatever John was trying worked on John and put him to sleep.

“Sherlock, love?” John asked.

Receiving no answer, John stood, scooped Sherlock up in his arms, and carried him to the bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter made sense. I'm so exhausted, all I can think about is sleep. :-)


	13. 13 December 2015

Sherlock was cold and miserable. He had forgotten his coat and it was raining. Somehow putting on his coat had slipped his mind. If this was what love did to him, he needed to get control of it before it got worse.

Sherlock was completely soaked and was shivering so badly that he could hear his teeth chattering. He was sure that he looked ridiculous, so he was avoiding going home. He didn’t want John to see him looking so terrible.

**Sherlock, where are you? You ran out of the house without your coat and it’s cold. I’m worried. John**

Sherlock looked at the bag in his hand containing bread and milk. He had been trying to do something nice for John and ended up worrying him.

He reluctantly turned towards home, not wanting to make John worry any longer.

When he walked through the door, John jumped up from the couch, eyes wide.

“Sherlock! Oh, come on, let’s get you dry,” John said, rushing forward and beginning to strip the wet clothes off of Sherlock. “Where did you go?”

Sherlock held up the bag, unable to stop his shivering.

John’s face broke into a sweet smile when he realized what Sherlock had done, and then led Sherlock to bed, where he wrapped the two of them in a warm blanket.


	14. 14 December 2015

John came home from work to a mess he never expected to find. Sherlock was standing in front of a stand mixer, staring intently into the bowl. When he turned around, John saw that he was nearly covered in flour.

“What are you doing?” John asked, trying to look into the bowl of the mixer without getting too close. He wasn’t sure what toxic chemicals Sherlock was using for this experiment.

“I should think that is obvious, John,” Sherlock said, turning to peer into the bowl of the mixer again. He absently reached down and picked up a plate, holding it out. “Scone?”

John took one of the scones which, frankly, smelled delicious. He was sure that Sherlock wouldn’t try to poison him, not now that they were dating, but he took a very small bite.

_Oh my god._

It was the best scone he’d ever tasted. He took a second, much larger, bite and moaned as he ate it.

“Sherlock, when did you start baking?” John asked, spraying scone crumbs everywhere.

“Baking is a simple application of chemistry, John,” Sherlock said, dumping something into the mixer bowl and turning it on before looking at John with a smile. “Now, what kind of cake should I make?

John shook his head. Who would have ever thought Sherlock would love to bake?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, my husband gave me one of my Christmas presents early today and it's a KitchenAid stand mixer! So I baked today instead of writing and I thought this would be a fun chapter to write. :-)


	15. 15 December 2015

John was looking for one of his jumpers, one he hadn’t seen since he and Sherlock started dating and he moved most of his clothes into Sherlock’s room. He was back in his old room, looking for his favorite Christmas jumper, which he was sure had been here somewhere.

He looked on the shelf in the top of the closet, pulling down what he thought might be his jumper. As he tugged at it, some boxes fell with it. He barely managed to catch them, setting them down and looking at the destroyed jumper in his hand. He frowned at it, looking at the massive hole in it that was from some sort of acid. He cursed Sherlock, ready to shout at him about respecting John’s property.

As he turned to storm off, brightly colored paper caught his eye. He stopped, looking at the boxes that had fallen out of the closet. There were three of them, wrapped in festive wrapping paper. He picked one up and looked at the tag.

To: John  
Love, Sherlock

Sherlock bought him presents? A look at the other tags confirmed that they were all for John. Sherlock had never been big on presents, calling them “fatuous.” This was . . . unexpected.

Smiling, John put the jumper back on the shelf and on top of it, the boxes.


	16. 16 December 2015

Sherlock studied the plant that was sitting in front of him on the table. It was a small rose bush, obviously, but he wasn’t sure about it’s origin. He had awoken from a nap on the couch and found this small, blossoming rose bush on his table with a tag that read “To: Sherlock.”

He was sure he had never expressed any sort of interest in rose bushes to John or Mrs. Hudson and they were the only two who would supply him with something like this. Had he been talking about rose bushes and deleted it? That was possible, but why would he delete something like that?

John walked into the kitchen, whistling. He smiled when he saw Sherlock looking at the plant.

“John, why is this here?” Sherlock asked, frowning.

John chuckled. “Because I put it here.”

“Why? It has my name on it.”

“It’s for you, silly.”

“But _why_ , John? Why on Earth would you buy me something so random, so odd? I didn’t ask for a rose bush.”

“No, you didn’t ask for a rosebush. But I bought you one anyway.”

“You are the silly one, John. It is nonsensical to buy something like this for me.”

John smiled, leaned down, and gave Sherlock a kiss. “Do I need an excuse to buy flowers for my boyfriend?”


	17. 17 December 2015

John watched Sherlock over the top of his paper. Sherlock was dropping sobering from a pipette onto a Petri dish containing a rose petal. 

“You might as well put the paper down,” Sherlock told him without looking up. “You're not even pretending to read it now.”

John smiled and set his paper down, taking a bite of his toast. Now Sherlock was watching the Petri dish, his head tilted to one side. John wanted to disrupt his conversation and drag him into the bedroom for sex, but he was sure that would annoy Sherlock. He would have to be patient.

“Stop thinking those things. You’re being distracting.” Sherlock looked up at John, a desperate look on his face.

“Maybe a little distraction is a good thing,” John said with a smile, biting his lip in a way he knew Sherlock found sexy.

“I’m doing an experiment,” Sherlock protested weakly, but he was already standing up and reaching for John’s hand.

John smiled and stood, taking Sherlock’s hand and letting himself be led into the bedroom. “Your experiment can wait.”

“Not really, but I’ll just redo it later.” Sherlock turned and wrapped his arms around John, kissing him deeply while he started to undress. “You’re more important.”

“I am?” John asked, surprised.

Sherlock smiled. “Of course. After all, it is only botany.”


	18. 18 December 2015

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of weird chapter tonight, I'm a bit out of it right now. Enjoy!

John walked through the door and was immediately assaulted. Strong hands grabbed him and threw him against the wall, one hand holding his wrists above his head as familiar lips descended on him, kissing all of the air out of his lungs. He was sure he was going to suffocate, but he couldn’t be bothered to do anything but kiss back.

A hand pulled John’s jumped up and over his head, transferring it to the hand that held his wrists, where it’s sleeves, still firmly on John’s lower arms, were used to keep him immobile. The free hand started working at the buttons on John’s shirt as the lips he loved kissed up John’s jaw to his ear before working their way down his neck. John moaned as they kissed a particularly sensitive spot, an agile pink tongue flicking out to lick gently at the spot, making John gasp and buck his hips, searching for friction.

A chuckle rumbled from behind the lips as they sucked, licked, kissed, and generally teased John nearly to the point of madness. “What is it that you want, love?” a deep, throaty voice whispered.

“You.”

“What’s the magic word?”

“Unh, Sherlock.”

The chuckle sounded again as the free hand swept down, rubbed quickly over John’s throbbing cock, and moved up to open his belt buckle.


	19. 19 December 2015

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter goes along with my Mystrade Advent Calendar. If you're not also reading that, you can just skip it (you can read it, but it won't make much sense). Enjoy!

“What’s going on with Mycroft?” John asked over breakfast. “Sally made some comment to me about Lestrade dating him. Are they still pretending they’re together?”

To John’s surprise, Sherlock looked troubled when he looked up to answer John. “I have no idea. Lestrade’s in love with him and Mycroft, as always, is too thick to see it. I tried to tell him, but he wouldn’t listen.”

“Does he ever listen? What’s Lestrade going to do about it?”

Sherlock shrugged. “He had me put some mistletoe in Mycroft’s house, which gave me a chance to do some reconnaissance. He is most certainly pining after Lestrade, but the two fools won’t admit that they love each other.”

John chuckled, thinking about how long it took John and Sherlock to admit their feelings. Hopefully Lestrade and Mycroft wouldn’t take as long. If they did, they might never end up together.

“Are you planning to meddle?”

“I already am meddling. I told Mycroft how Lestrade felt, I helped Lestrade with the mistletoe. Locking them in a room until they figure it out might be an idea,” Sherlock said, looking thoughtful.

“That might be a bad idea,” John told him carefully, a bit worried that Sherlock was seriously considering it.

“Do you have a better idea to get through to thick Lestrade and my idiot brother?”


	20. 20 December 2015

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Silly Sherlock is silly.
> 
> P.S. I changed my user name.

John heard a loud thump come from the hallway, followed by a yelp of pain. Grinning, he put the book he was reading down and walked into the hallway, where he found Sherlock sprawled on the floor, a large, heavy box lying next to him. The box was wrapped in wrapping paper and had broken open when it fell, spilling out a pile of bricks.

John had put the box in the top of the linen closet, hidden by bed sheets. It was labeled “To Sherlock” and was obviously a Christmas gift.

“You could have killed me!” Sherlock said angrily as John helped him up.

John laughed. “How many times do I have to tell you not to snoop for presents?”

“I wasn’t snooping.” Sherlock straightened his clothes, glaring at John.

“Oh? Then why did you try to pull down a box that was all the way in the back of the top shelf of the closet? A box wrapped like a gift and labeled that it was for you?” John couldn’t stop himself from smiling. Sherlock acted like such a child sometimes and he found it so endearing.

“I thought it had my microscope in it.”

“The one that’s on the table?”

Sherlock mumbled something and John laughed again, pulling him into a hug. “You’re lucky it was just bricks.”


	21. 21 December 2015

Sherlock watched as John stumbled into the flat. The noise when John was coming up the stairs had been so loud that Sherlock was sure Mrs. Hudson would have some strong words for John tomorrow.

For now, Sherlock had a drunk John to worry about. It had been months since John had left the flat and returned drunk, not since before Sherlock and John had started dating. Now that they were together everything was worse, as John had smiled broadly upon seeing Sherlock and thrown his arms around Sherlock’s neck, attempting some type of affection.

Sherlock put John to bed with a patience he didn’t know he had, ensuring that John was undressed and comfortable, ready to sleep.

“Why were you drinking?” Sherlock asked as John smiled at him.

“Greg’s depressed about the situation with Mycroft. Things are bad,” John said, yawning. He reached out a hand and grabbed Sherlock’s wrist. “Don’t leave me.”

“Of course,” Sherlock said quietly, holding John’s hand tightly and smiling as broadly as he could. “I would never leave you.”

John smiled and kissed Sherlock’s hand, cuddling it to his chest. “Good. That’s good. That means so much to me. Thank you.”

As John fell asleep, drifting off into the dreamless sleep of the totally pissed, Sherlock whispered, “I know our relationship will never go bad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter. I'm not admitting anything, but I may have written it drunk.
> 
> ...Yep, definitely drunk. :-)


	22. 22 December 2015

John met Lestrade for lunch before heading to the jewelry shop.

“Are you sure about this?” Lestrade asked, watching as John studied the rings in the case carefully, looking for the perfect one. “You haven’t been dating that long.”

John chuckled. “I’ve known for a lot longer than we’ve been dating. He’s always been the one. There’s never been any doubt for me.”

“Good. He deserves a good man and so do you.”

“Ah, so you’ve decided that he’s a good man, then?” John motioned to a ring and the girl pulled it out, holding it out to him so he could take a closer look.

“I suppose. He’s okay, for a Holmes.” Lestrade smiled warmly at John, obviously pleased with this errand.

“The Holmes not a happy group for you these days?” John glanced at Lestrade with concern as he paid for the ring.

“I don’t know what they are, John. The lot of them are insane.”

“I’ll give you that. They are a rather strange family, aren’t they? The parents seem normal enough, but they clearly aren’t, considering how their children turned out,” John said.

“Why didn’t you tell me that yours was the sane, normal one?” Lestrade complained, watching as John slipped the ring box into his pocket.

John smiled and grinned. “Well, I didn’t want to brag.”


	23. 23 December 2015

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another one that has to do with my other Advent Calendar. Sorry if you're not also reading that one! 
> 
> P.S. You should totally go read that one, too.

“Thanks for doing this,” John said, holding the ring box out to Greg. They were in Greg’s office, having met for lunch once again. “Everything okay?” John asked as Greg looked at his phone for what was the tenth time instead of taking the box from him.

“Mycroft is taking his sweet time texting me back,” Greg said, frowning at the phone. “Normally he only takes a few minutes, but lately he’s been ignoring me or something.”

“He’s Mycroft, he’s probably busy,” John said without much conviction. He knew that there was some strange quasi-relationship happening between Greg and Mycroft, but he wasn’t sure exactly what was happening. “I’m sure he’ll text you eventually.”

Greg sighed. “I’m sure he will, but I think there’s something wrong that he won’t talk about.”

“He’s a Holmes, they don’t talk about emotions,” John said with a shrug. “If you want to be with him, you’ll have to get used to it.”

“Who said I want to be with him?” Greg asked a little too sharply.

“No one, mate. Forget I said that.” John smiled, handing the box to Greg and watching him tuck it safely away. “Anyway, thank you for holding onto this for me until tomorrow. You know how Sherlock is when I’m trying to keep a secret. He’s a bloody bloodhound.”


	24. 24 December 2015

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting close to the end with this! I'm so sad. :-(

John prepared everything as carefully as he could. He wanted to surprise Sherlock, which seemed an impossible thing to do. Mrs. Hudson helped John get Sherlock out of the flat for over half an hour, during which he set the table for a meal and laid out their favorite takeaway to share.

When Sherlock came back into the flat, complaining about Mrs. Hudson’s neediness, he stopped and stared at John, standing there in his nicest clothes, next to a beautifully laid table. John had borrowed a tablecloth and dishes from Mrs. Hudson and it was much nicer than how they normally ate.

“Merry Christmas, Sherlock,” John said, pulling out Sherlock’s chair for him.

Sherlock smiled and sat in the chair. “I wasn’t expecting this.”

“I’m full of surprises.” John sat in his own chair, smiling at Sherlock. He was suddenly nervous.

“John, will you marry me?” Sherlock asked suddenly.

John stared. “What?”

Sherlock pulled a ring box out of his pocket and opened it, holding it out to John. “Please?”

John pulled the ring box out of his pocket, opening it and holding it out to John so that he could see the ring that he had bought, which matched Sherlock’s ring perfectly. “If you marry me.”

Sherlock smiled as they both put their new rings on and admired them. “Blissfully.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the ring I was picturing for them: http://wedding-pictures-01.onewed.com/10635/infinity-wedding-band-mens-jewelry-white-gold__detail.JPG


	25. 25 December 2015

Christmas night, the day over at last. It had been a long, stressful day for everyone, including John and Sherlock. With the drama surrounding Greg and Lestrade, John and Sherlock had barely had time to themselves to celebrate their own love. It seemed strange to John, Sherlock not being the center of attention, but he was pleased to be out of the spotlight for a change.

They were home and cuddled up in bed, having just enjoyed each other’s bodies in all of their favorite ways. Sherlock mumbled something and shifted so his face was buried in John’s chest.

“Sh,” John said quietly, stroking Sherlock’s hair lightly. His love needed the sleep, especially considering that their normal fast-paced life was set to resume the next day. The past month since they had started dating and had put life mostly on hold seemed to fly by, ending far too fast for John’s liking.

He was sure that they would find a nice rhythm, they always did, but he was sure he would always long for the time they had recently spent together, learning everything about being in a relationship with each other, all of the good and the bad.

“Merry Christmas, Sherlock,” John whispered.

“Merry Christmas, John,” Sherlock replied.

John smiled and pulled Sherlock closer, happy to be with his betrothed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! I can't believe this is over already! I hope everyone that read it liked the conclusion.
> 
> Merry Christmas!


End file.
